“No deals” with Turabi

The Sudanese government has denied media reports that the government was close to an agreement with former speaker of parliament Hasan al-Turabi, that will lead to his release. Muhammed Dirdeiry, Sudanese Embassy Deputy Head of Mission in Nairobi, told IRIN that Turabi was still in jail and the treason case was still “moving forward.” “There is no room for political deals, and the criminal case will follow the laid down procedures,” he said. The former Speaker of parliament and leader of opposition Popular National Congress was arrested last month, after he signed an agreement with the leader of the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The Memorandum of Understanding signed in Geneva, on 19 February said Sudan was “on the verge of collapse under the regime’s totalitarian and high-handed approach”, and recommended that “peaceful popular resistance must be stepped up”.